Cinderheart's confessions
by WyldClaw
Summary: oneshot. take place post last hope. How would cinderheart go about telling her parents who she really was before the dark forest battle when she released cinderpelt's soul? some Lionblaze/cinderheart fluff . please read and review. thanks


Confessions by WyldClaw

Plot: how did Cinderheart tell her parents about who she really was? Lionblaze/cinderheart fluff. Italics are thoughts and ~ indicates dream sequences. Enjoy!

XxX XxX

It was about two moons since the Dark Forest battle and I was thinking about telling my parents about Cinderpelt. After I had found out the truth was I never told them- i believed it was my burden to bear? It was weighing heavily on my mind and it made it hard to hunt. For a while my clanmates thought it was an after- effect of the dark forest battle.

I sighed as I padded to the bank next to the stream and sat down- I had gone out hunting and caught a sparrow and a very fat squirrel. My thoughts drifted to the dream I had the other night.

~Dream sequence begins~

I was stalking a juicy fat rabbit nibbling a blade of grass. _ Go on rabbit, eat away. Ignore the death slinking towards you. _I smirked as I slunk ever closer to the creature. At the right moment I leapt up, giving a terrifying "mrrrrow!" as I unsheathed my claws. The rabbit looked up it fear. it tried to run but failed as I took it's life with one blow. It fell to the ground as I landed on my feet. I made sure to give thanks to StarClan for the creature's life.

"Good strike, young niece. Cloudtail has taught you well." a voice came from behind me and I whipped my head around. I saw a starry small sleek dark gray she-cat with blue eyes and a bushy tail pad toward me. I knew that voice intimately despite never meeting the cat.

"Cinderpelt" I bowed my head in respect to the former medicine cat- the aunt I never got to meet. We looked so similar it was like looking into a puddle and seeing my reflection.

She let out a meow that sounded like a laugh. " No need to do that here, cinderheart. If anything I should be bowing to you- you allowed me to live the life of a warrior. "

I looked up, seeing myself reflected in her blue orbs. " I'm honored to have let you had the chance. But why did you choose me? Why not Molepaw or Honeyfern or Poppyfrost?"

Her whiskers twitched in amusement. "Because I saw much of myself in you. No offense to your brother, but I don't think I would have made it as a tom " I tried to picture her spirit living in my brother away and I couldn't.

"It was hard for me... when I found out I was you. I mean you were me, well living in me"

"I'm sorry that I put you through so much turmoil"

"That's okay. Auntie Cinderpelt" I blurted out and her blue eyes sparkled at the name. "You wanted to have a second chance."

She nodded. "Despite everything you have gone through cinderheart you still seem troubled" she beckoned me with her tail. "Walk with me"

I got to my paws, the rabbit all but forgotten, and followed her. The trees and plants were in bloom and it smelled so nice. "StarClan is beautiful" I commented.

"Yes it is. Very large too- this is only a small part of it. Now that we have beaten the Dark Forest StarClan is going back to the way it used to be."

Two starclan cats who were talking to each other -one a white she cat and an amber eyed ginger and white tom stepped in the way of Cinderpelt and I. They stopped when they saw us. I recognized them from the stories brackenfur told me when I was a kit- his parents Frostfur and acornpelt,

They purred with delight when they saw Cinderpelt and went up and licked her cheek. "Oh Cinderpelt. We're so glad to see you again" acornpelt beamed.

" We heard about the battle. How terrifying!" Frostfur gazed over to me warmly. " You must be cinderheart"

I ducked my head in embarrassment "y-yes"

"There's no need to embarrassed dear one" acornpelt mewed. "We are simply glad you helped and that you have decided to be your own cat and chose your destiny"

'Acornpelt, the way you're going on you make it seem like she had no choice." Cinderpelt teased him.

I padded forward. "Actually i did. But i didn't want to be living two lives. I thought that if-if i freed Cinderpelt's spirit then i could live my own life. I had someone i truly loved; my clan and the memories were hard for me. I didn't think it think it was right so i made the choice on my own"

Frostfur went up to me. "That was well spoken. Brackenfur must be proud of you. "

I felt my heart sink- the mention of my father reminded me that i hadn't told them who had been in my body. _He's go to starclan out of shock! I mean this is his sister who died helping Sorreltail give birth to me. _My grandparents smiled as they nodded and walked past Cinderpelt and i. Once they were out of sight my aunt turned to me. " Brackenfur and Sorreltail don't know that I was you do they?"

I stopped in my tracks and shook my head. "No. They- they don't" I whispered. " When I found out the truth, I was so confused and there was so much going on in the Clans. Plus Seedkit and lillykit were about to be born and Sorreltail was worried about her kitting and-"

She waved her tail "and you didn't want to burden them with the news or bring up old wounds"

"Or the badger attack the night I was born" I shuddered. Thanks to Cinderpelt's memories I had an inkling of what badgers were although I never met one_. Nor do I want to_.

We stopped and she faced me. " I think you should tell them. They deserve a right to know. Although it has been seasons I know my loss still hurts them. Remember when Honeyfern died?"

I nodded. "And leafpool was looking at me-us-frantically hoping that we could save her"

She tapped me lightly with her tail. "It's hard but there are times when you know there is no hope and you have to let life take its course. It was her time- even starclan couldn't reverse the paws of fate. I know that .I think that they would be glad to know that I was there"

I dropped my voice "wh-what about lionblaze?"

She chuckled. "Firestar's grandson? The one of the Three you like?" I felt my face get hot. " Well, you did make up with him after you let me go free. He is quite the handsome tom"

We stood up. "Thank you Cinderpelt. I think i will tell them"

She purred. " You're welcome dear one" she tapped my nose as everything around me started to fade as i heard some cat call my name over and over.

-Dream ends-

"... Cinderheart? Hello? Earth to cinderheart" a ginger tail waved in front of me. I blinked and found my self-back in the forest.

I turned around and saw Poppyfrost's daughter Cherrypaw there. "Oh hello Cherrypaw "

My amber-eyed energetic niece was beaming and bouncing on her paws. "Guess what? Guess what? Foxleap and Rosepetal said that in a few days Molepaw and me are going to be warriors! Foxleap sent me on an assessment to see if i could find a clanmate in our territory and I found you "

. I purred with happiness- she had worked extremely hard. "That's wonderful news Cherrypaw."

She gazed over to the buried fresh kill. "Wow. You must have been busy. Can i help you carry it back?"

I nodded as i unburied the prey. We brought it back to camp and deposited it in the growing fresh-kill pile.

"Well done, Cinderheart" Squirelflight nodded in approval. The dark ginger deputy's belly was starting to show a tiny bit. Bramblestar had been overjoyed to hear the news that he was going to be a father for real. Jayfeather said it seemed to be a blessing from StarClan after the Dark Forest Battle that she was pregnant. However she insisted she wasn't ready to be in the nursery until she absolutely had to.

"Do you know if Brackenfur and Sorreltail are around? I want to talk to them in the training hollow privately"

She flicked her bushy tail to where my parents were sharing tongues. "They wanted a break from your sisters so Brightheart and daisy are looking after them."

"Thanks. " I nodded my head in respect and padded over to them. I felt nervous. Would they be mad at me? _ Great StarClan, Cinderheart! Stop acting like a kit that's been caught sneaking out of camp! _

I cleared my throat and they looked up. "Um, Brackenfur, Sorreltail. There's something I need to tell you in private in the training hollow"

My slender tortishell mother gazed up at me as she stood up. "Hello dear. What's the matter?"

Brackenfur stared at me intently with his great amber eyes. "It's nothing that you have to worry about. I promise"

They exchanged glances at one another. As we headed to the empty spot the knot in my stomach tightened. _Oh StarClan please help me. _

Once we arrived in the hollow I motioned for them to sit down in the dusty leaf strewn earth. "I don't really know how to explain this without bringing up old wounds. "

My golden brown father looked confused. "Explain what?" he asked.

"You know how you named me after Cinderpelt after the badger attack that occurred when Poppyfrost and I were born?"

Sorreltail's eyes got a little watery at that mention. "Of course I do Cinderheart."

My tail brushed against the earth. "Well... she didn't go to StarClan when she died. She was reborn as me and –". Suddenly- like throwing up a piece of bad fresh kill everything began spilling out: how I knew about different herbs, my discovery at who I really was, Jayfeather telling me the truth, Letting Cinderpelt go and I ended with the dream. They were great listeners. They gasped when I told them my revelation and about the dream. Their mouths seemed to drop when I explained about trying to decide between the two lives. When I told them about the dream they seemed to glow with happiness. In fact, when I mentioned calling my aunt 'Auntie Cinderpelt' both of them purred in amusement.

I finished my story. "... And I wasn't so sure how you would react 'cause she was your sister, Brackenfur and I didn't want to upset you but-"

Brackenfur held up a paw and I fell silent. "My sweet daughter, you think we were going to be mad at you for telling us this?""

My whiskers twitched. "Well..."

Sorreltail came up and licked my cheek. " We could never be mad at you for your decisions dear. Unless you fell in love with a ShadowClanner."

I wrinkled my nose in utter disgust for a heartbeat. "Yuck! I'd rather eat rabbit and fox dung! "

Sorreltail smiled. "I don't blame you."

Brackenfur set his warm amber eyes on me. "You know, now that I think about it, there were lots of signs that showed your aunt's soul inside you. Your eagerness to help, your knowledge of herbs, the way you seem so wise for one so young-"

"Your striking resemblance to Cinderpelt and that special way you flicks your paw. " Sorreltail added. "I always thought there was something special about you-something I couldn't my claw on. But your father and I are very proud of you for what you chose to do."

"Y-you a-are? " I sputtered out, sounding like I had a mouse stuck in my throat.

Brackenfur touched the tip of his tail to my shoulder. "Cinderheart, you gave your aunt another chance at opportunity she was denied after she was caught in Tigerstar's trap to kill Bluestar: the chance to be a well respected ThunderClan warrior. Even though she became an amazing medicine cat, I know there was a part of her that wished nothing could have changed. You allowed her to fufill that one desire. I know it must have been frustrating for you to keep your souls apart."

I sighed. "That's how I felt. I didn't know what to do. I thought after I learned who I am-was- I was supposed to be a medicine cat. It was Jayfeather and Lionblaze"- I felt my face burn at the sound of my love's name, " who helped me realize that I make my own path. StarClan may help guide my paws but the choice is up to me to decide how to live my life."

Sorreltail purred proudly. "Spoken just like a true ThunderClan warrior. Your grandfather Whitestorm and your siblings are probably looking down on you from StarClan with great pride." She looked misty-eyed for a few heartbeats.

"I didn't mean to make you sad, Mom" I mewed. "But what am I going to tell Lionblaze? I mean, he's one of the Three and I am-was- a reincarnated cat. I love him with all my heart. When he admitted his power to me I thought I was just an ordinary warrior and that we couldn't be together. But now after releasing Cinderpelt's spirit I don't know if that means he'll still love me."

My parents looked at one another for a second. "Why don't you ask him yourself?" Brackenfur asked.

"What do you-" I began but the wind shifted directions and I got a super strong whiff of his scent. I turned around and saw my hero in golden fur standing a few kitten-steps behind me. His handsome amber eyes seemed to melt me into a puddle. I couldn't speak.

Sorreltail and Brackenfur stood up and stretched. "If you need us we'll be in the camp " Brackenfur stated. I heard them leave the hollow.

I finally found my voice. "How long have you..."

"Been here? " he finished. " A short amount of time. " he sat down next to me. "What you told them. That took a lot of courage. "

"Thanks. But do you still want to be around me? I know that a while back I said that we couldn't be together because of your powers. But after everything that happened do you still want to be around an identity confused cat?"

He purred with amusement and licked my cheek. "What makes you think I wouldn't want to? You're beautiful, intelligent, funny and amazing in battle. I love you Cinderpelt with all my heart."

My heart seemed to burst with those words. " I love you too. But what about who we are?"

" You said it yourself: we make our own paths and StarClan is just there to help guide our pawsteps. Sometimes despite odd circumstances even they can't stop love. I'm one of the Three and have kittypet blood in my body because of Firestar. "

I remembered a story Sorreltail had told me when I was a kit. "And Bluestar fell in love with a RiverClan tom even though she tried to stay loyal to the warrior code. But isn't Mistystar one of her kits?"

He nodded. "yup. She didn't even know she was Half-Clan until much later in life. From the stories I heard in the nursery she and her brother we persecuted by Tigerstar when he took over RiverClan. She escaped thanks to Firestar and Graystripe but her brother Stonefur..." one look at his sorrow filled face and I knew what had happened. There was no need to finish the sentence.

" but you're one of the most powerful cats alive. How am I supposed to compete with that ?"

He purred in amusement. "Just because I have a unique ability doesn't mean I don't need some cat to keep me grounded. I don't care that you were Cinderpelt, I love you the way you are. " My heart seemed to melt at those words.

So you don't mind then ?" my whiskers twitched.

"Not if you don't mind not worrying about me getting injured in battle... or having to deal with to my grumpy pain in the tail brother."

"Cheeky furball! Jayfeather isn't that bad-I learned that when my leg was healing. And hows this for an answer?" I rubbed myself against his fur and licked his cheeks. He did the same to me.

At that moment nothing else in the world mattered. It felt like it was just Lionblaze and I. I felt like I could float up to StarClan and back I was in such a state of contentness.

_Thank you Cinderpelt. This is where I'm meant to be- right by Lionblaze's side. _

The End


End file.
